Cthylla
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Cthylla (nickname: the Secret Daughter of Cthulhu) is a fictional character, a Great Old One from the pantheon of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Originally from Xoth, she currently resides in Yhe, where she is guarded by Cthulhu's minions, so she will be able to give birth to Great Cthulhu again when he is destroyed in the distant future. Cthylla's physical appearance is that of a giant, black-ringed, red bodied, six-eyed octopus with small wings; like her father, she is able to alter her body proportions at will, though, so her wings can be enlarged until they enabled her to fly. While she normally has eight arms like any other octopus, she is able to grow or retract additional ones at will (she has been known to sport as many as twelve arms). Each arm is equipped with dozens of razor sharp claws, each about five inches in length. She is essential for Cthulhu's plans, and is thus constantly guarded by countless Yuggya and Deep Ones. In 1980, an attempt was made by the Wilmarth Foundation to assassinate her by bombing the reef she resided in. The attack failed and provoked a deadly retaliatory strike by Cthulhu, who responded by unleashing a devastating hurricane against the port city of Arkham in Massachusetts, where Miskatonic University, home base of the foundation, is located. Cthulhu's hurricane devastated the city and almost completely destroyed the campus, killing hundred of people in the process. While Cthylla is actually the creation of Brian Lumley, who mentioned her in his novel The Transition Of Titus Crow, he never described what she actually looked liked in that story. It was Tina L. Jens who gave Cthylla her description as a giant winged octopus in her story In His Daughter's Darkling Womb.
References
- The Transition Of titus Crow Brian Lumley
- In His Daughter's Darkling Womb Tina L. Jens Singers Of Strange Songs Robert M. Price (ed) Chaosium
- The Encyclopedia Cthuliana Daniel Harms Chaosium